Downtime Notes - Alavar
Alavar and Ozthus Kin'aalah A mobile village of the Dyami, the plainswalker Centaurs, this houses some 400 centaurs. Living in large teepees, which they can carry on their backs when migrating, the villagers live off the plains. People * Etu (a) - Sun ''- Spiritual leader of the Dyami. The head druid, worships Vetra and Silvanus. * Ashkii (a) - ''Boy ''- A young ranger-druid of the Dyami, wanders far for many days, a scout of sorts. * Kaliska (f) - ''Coyote-chasing-deer ''- The chief of the Dyami, a grey-haired and aging woman. She has some of the Sight, but is nearing her death. * Pitalesharo (m) - ''Leader-Chief ''- * Enyeto (m) - ''Walks-like-bear ''- * Alaqua (f) - ''Sweet-gum-tree ''- * Tadi (a) - ''Wind ''- * Onacona (f) - ''Owl ''- * Satanta (a) - ''White-bear ''- Food Druids of the plains people provide most of the food for the village, growing crops and tending them in the months of the rainy season and directly after. During the dry season, the druids cannot produce as much food through agriculture, so the Dyami hunt for meat, supplementing that diet with other grains and vegetables. Religion The plains people worship Vetra primarily, as she is the source of their livelihood. Some know Silvanus, the forest god, as he is a patron of farmers and hunters. Culture The Dyami view many things as a natural part of life. They have a very relaxed view of identity and sexuality, believing that what is natural to ones own feelings is what one should follow. Destructive tendencies are to be channeled into protecting the village. The centaurs of the plains people are not born as one particular gender or another. When they come of age, they go to Pavaticoma, the mountain of Vetra. There her magic enriches them after they complete a druidic ritual and bring an offering of food, and they choose their own identity: Male, Female, or Neutral. Because of this, there are pretty defined gender roles. Women guard and manage the village, while men do more labor and hunting. Ananke (Neutrals) fulfill some of both, but also become artists, bards, or astrologers. There are exceptions, but very few. All villagers care for children, and every child is effectively raised and taught by the entire village. Sages Centaurs have a deep connection with the stars, and can see omens in them. They do not look for signs of small things in the planets, but rather can read the fates of the planes as a whole in them, over the course of many years or even decades. These sages can also read omens in the wind, or read a person's emotions in the lines the wind take to cross them. Animal totems, too, are very important to these sages. Vetra Lives high on a nearby "mountain", Pavaticoma, alone, guarded by the Witch-Woman. ''(In reality, she IS the witch-woman.) ''She guards herself with other couatl that can come at her call, but she prefers to live alone, and the offerings of the Dyami sustain her. She knows of the other old ones, and suspects something of Jormunn. The Shadowfell and Phenex Phenex is a lich and an abyssal, a lieutenant of the Shadow Queen. * His current goal is to begin expanding the reign of Nagathar beyond the borders that the Lich King, Tarul Var, imposed. * He cannot do this directly because Tarul Var wishes to stay within these borders, and does not want to unleash his kingdom of undead on the world. * Tarul Var is misguided, and slightly insane, believing that this is truly what is best for the inhabitants of his realm and calling it a sanctuary for those among them who wish to have a peaceful life. Nagathar is on the border between the Shadowfell and the Material Plane. Those within cannot leave, to either plane, without sacrifice. Tarul Var only allows those who have their memories wiped to leave, leaving only a sense of dread and doom. Phenex is aware of this, and will deliberately deceive the party. He will not use teleportation magic directly unless he must, for doing so would incur the wrath of Tarul Var. Phenex will readily help them, insisting that they stay under his watch while in the Shadowfell. He will stress that they must leave with some measure of privacy to fool the Dread Lord, as usually he does not allow anyone to pass beyond the borders of the realm. ''"I would very much enjoy taking advantage of you and keeping you here forever, or killing you and consuming your mortal souls... but there are certain rules in place that govern our stay here, and I'd far rather see you free and have you perform a service for me, than kill you and upset the balance here." "That is for us to know. I do not share secrets without additional payment. And I imagine, if you want to leave here, you only wish to pay once rather than twice." He will ask for payment for this service in the form of the following options. They are either to give up something of their core selves, or to take something with them. * Grant me a piece of your soul. * Renounce your god. * Violently murder one living (non-undead) person within the realm within 4 hours. * Plant something within the greatest Ankra temple, a tome that radiates darkness. * Bring a vampire servant out with them. (Must be willing for this to work.) * Accept a powerful soul curse from his wand. To get them out, he will grant them a wardstone, which would emanate magic and darkness like inky, heavy fog. This would allow them passage out of the Shadowfell and remove any minor effects of that plane, if kept on their person for three days. * This is not true. The wardstones would actually serve as a conduit through which Phenex could seed a plague of shadows. The effects of the shadowfell (apart from major alignment changes and soul-altering things) would fade by themselves over the course of three days. * They have a secondary effect of being able to mask their bearers from Tarul Var's eyes, making them * The wardstones are not actually necessary to pass through the border, for a good-aligned creature. The Monastery of the Elven Monks Here Ozthus can train for a long time to earn the privilege of forging his own Tipedo. Imbued with sunlight and moonlight, this will be a fusion of the stars of Varda and the serene light of Majere. * Tipedo / Chanzhang. +1 Masterworked monk weapon (steel, adamantine, and moonstone). ** Slashing / Bludgeoning, Reach, Versatile (1d8/1d10) ** Vicious. ''This weapon does an extra dice of damage on a critical hit. ** ''Divine Blessing. ''This weapon's damage counts as magical and silvered for the purpose of overcoming resistance. ** ''Shove. ''After hitting a creature with this weapon, you may use a bonus action to Shove them. * Originating as a shovel that doubled as a walking stick or a bo, this weapon comes from the monks of Celestian on the continent of Syra, who used it to bury fallen travelers with the proper rites. The spade-like end can be sharpened to cause long shallow cuts, and the crescent end is used to bludgeon or to push opponents back. Cel Mephit The last and most well-defended of the Ankra citadels in the north of Nodor and the ruins of Firindor, the citadel of Cel Mephit long withstood the Northmen’s advance. Only through the heroism and genius of the northmen were its walls breached. Ash and Ado The Plight of the Ninquar The snow elves have been dying since the curse was initiated, some 180 years ago. When a snow elf reaches the age of 200, they start to die, succumbing to a "disease" or curse that weakens the constitution and strength of its victims. Right now the population of the entire race is limited to those below that age. Noros has a twin brother named Kaulë, who leads the scattered survivors that they could find. In recent years, their Northern Conclave has made more permanent settlement, living together in the Coldreach, in Winter's Crown. ''The thing that is actually causing the curse is the poisoning of Jormuun, the Old One that has been their silent patron. A group of frost giants, under the guidance of a white dragon with emerald eyes, is keeping him hostage in their fortress in the Frorenlaed. Varda Elentari * "Destiny guides you. Your people are not safe. My light can only shield them for so long. Jormuun, the protector of the northlands, is dying." * "Long ago, your people left the elven lands, seeking a simpler life alone under the stars. That is why your people must make this right. Why this destiny calls to you, should you choose to accept it." Thrym Benefits * Guurthax will give Thrym the ability to have resistance to fire damage, using special dragonblessed plate armor. This will also grant him the ability to cast Fire Bolt with a +7 to hit. ** Dragonblessed Plate Mail. This ornate, burnished hellsteel armor is decorated as if made from dragon scales, and is red-gold in color. Magical runes ward the wearer from attacks. ** This armor makes the user's AC 19, and gives them disadvantage on stealth checks. It is extraordinarily light, despite its size, weighing only 50 lbs. While attuned to this plate mail, the user has resistance to Fire damage, and can cast Fire Bolt at will with a +7 to hit, or their own spellcasting modifier, whichever is higher. * Illmater will appear to him, warning him that he will suffer much in the days to come, and offer him the chance to pledge his loyalty to him. ** "Dark times are coming... I can sense that many already feel great pain, and countless more may join them. You have been warned through your visions, through your history. Will you shield these little ones? Will you defend those who cannot defend themselves? Will you accept the pain of others to spare it from them?" ** If Thrym accepts, Illmater will promise him a special shield. He will grant it, but it will not be awakened yet. It is the Martyrguard, a lesser artifact shield that is one of his holy clerics' staples. * ''The Sword of Collen ''will not grow in power, but will become more amenable to Thrym's wishes. It will still only do the extra damage to an Evil-aligned creature, but it will consent to hurt others as long as it is defending him, and not taking the life of a neutral or good aligned creature. It will automatically deal 1 damage to a good-aligned creature. * The horse will level up once. * Demons: Thrym could learn a lot about demons in his time there. Made a handout for this. Dragon Lore No dragon is inherently good or evil, but since their kindred the dragon gods fell out of alignment, the different colors of dragon tend towards slightly different personalities. * Black - Tyrannical / Forceful, breathes acid. * Blue - Jealous / Proud, breathes lightning. * Green - Cunning / Thoughtful, breathes poison. * Red - Destructive / Impulsive, breathes fire. * White - Primal / Strong, breathes ice. * Brass - Self-absorbed / Talkative, breathes fire and sleep gas. * Bronze - Obsessive / Focused, breathes lightning and repulsion gas. * Copper - Deceitful / Jovial, breathes acid and slowing gas. * Gold - Ambivalent / Perceptive, breathes fire and weakening gas. * Silver - Temperamental / Loyal, breathes cold and paralyzing gas. All dragons also have special abilities: * Black - Transforms into a noxious, shadowy mist. * Blue - Transforms into a whirlwind of sand, and can earthglide. * Green - Transforms into humanoids, beasts, and other dragons. Cannot mimic the powers of other true dragons. * Red - Transforms into a huge, superpowered version of itself. * White - Transforms into a creature of ice, nigh invulnerable. * Brass - Can control earth and sand. * Bronze - Can control water and currents. * Copper - Can control minds - effectively, use telepathy and make extremely believable illusions * Gold - Can control fate and luck - not even they themselves know much about this * Silver - Can control wind and sky. Green dragons in particular are immune to poison of all sorts, and are less physically strong than their peers. Their willpower and innate magic is among the strongest, however. When transformed, they cannot use any spells or class abilities that they did not already have. They can mimic the physical attributes and strengths of other creatures, though they retain their own hit points and most of their non-physical abilities in all forms. Their transformation is easy, and does not require them to concentrate. Elowin Elowin and Lucian have built a small shack in a small cave on the mainland of Risilia, near the Carcharoth mountains to the east. They are just outside of a village they call Karthel. * Inariel '- female wood-elf ranger, devoted to Yavanna * '''Kalidan '- male dragonborn smith / tinker in Karthel ** '''Yah'nurri - female dragonborn, wife to Kaladin ** Pyxrin - female child, age 10 ** Dali - male child, age 6 * Grenda '- female human, the local herbalist * '''Melaxca '- female tabaxi, glassmaker * 'Jondur '- male dragonborn, leatherworker * 'Patryss '- female dragonborn, farmer At some point, Elowin will get a message from Yavanna, borne through a dryad. * 'Klymene '- female dryad, messenger of Yavanna ** "The Lady of the Golden Glade sends me to you, to bear you a message and a token. She knows some of what you have endured, and can foresee some of what you will bear." ** "She has spoken with her ally, the Luminous Redeemer, and they together send this word: That which you gave to us, we return to you. We see now that it must serve a purpose in later days, that can only be guided by your hand or that of your successor. The malice that kept its secrets from you is diminished, but be warned; as long as it remains undestroyed, its ambitions shall, in some part, remain." ** Elowin hears / sees Yavanna say this even as the dryad speaks. Elowin gains the following secrets from the book: * Parts of the lore of Neloren, before he learned to guard his secrets well. ** His ambition to study the planes beyond the normal planescape: what lies out there? Where did aberrations originate? Is the ethereal plane an extension of some larger, all-encompassing void? ** The discovery that spirits can be intercepted on their way through the Astral Sea to their final resting place. ** He calls these spirits Eidolons, the Beyonders, and theorizes that they once inhabited the Infinite Abyss before the Tanar'ri were created. ** Where his cypher is located in his laboratory on Tarimar ** A ritual to conjure, bind, and control an eidolon. ** Notes on the powers of eidolons, and different experimental rituals that can change them * ''Transfer Essence.'' '''The ability to transfer an eidolon's life force, even as the caster transfers theirs (essentially, Lucian may cast Life Transference once per short rest.) Category:Notes